Matt Willes Profile picture
Sep 15, 2020 9 tweets 3 min read Read on X
I HATE camping, but I still made some money while helping a terrific company.

Time for a mezz thread!
I own a comfortable, dry bed so why would I want to camp? When I think of camping the following comes to mind;
So I was naturally skeptical when I received a call one day to try and help a “glamping” company (If you’ve read about glamping in the WSJ then you’ve read about the company).
Their basic strategy is to put glamping sites outside of national parks.

After the capital outlay, the margins are “healthy.” However, there is severe seasonality to the business. They have to make basically all their money between spring and fall.
They want to expand, it’s a nice business with plenty of collateral. I genuinely like the management team (they are passionate and capable).

So I put in a term sheet for a 2 year deal.

Their response?
I’m totally frustrated at this point (I’d proposed exactly what they asked for) and decide to walk away.
After a few weeks off, we touch base again and it turns out their needs have changed. They are bringing in a PE partner (didn’t tell us about that before) but they are interested in a bridge until that closes.

Personal note: Stay Flexible
We work out a short term bridge which they repay 6 months later.

Final economics: 34.5% IRR with a NPV equivalent to 15 months of the original term sheet.
Final note: I haven’t been camping since.

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More from @SkolCapital

Jan 31, 2022
A few have asked, so today’s thread is how I manage my own portfolio.

One thought before we get there:

Start Where You Are!

It doesn’t really matter where I am - play your own game, but yes I hope you are investing for your future.
1. I have a large chunk of my portfolio in private debt. This is what generates cash flow and pays the bills.

It’s my “job”
2. Now, the basic strategy is to take the excess cash flow from #1 and diversify into other stuff.

** Minimize Trading **

I own a lot of plain, boring low-cost index funds.

Frankly, I never sell these
Read 12 tweets
Jan 25, 2022
I ran a $1 Billion corp bond portfolio in the 00’s for a small insurance company

I beat my benchmark by 177 basis points annually from 2003-2008 (when I left) - If you don’t know, this is massive performance

Lots of chatter about about interest rates, so here are a few lessons
1. Don’t predict interest rates

If you are betting that your model is better than all the Wall Street banks and all the portfolio managers (especially those managing 10-1000x your institutional portfolio) you have already lost.

Play the game that you can win
2. Don’t predict the Fed

I’m old enough to remember Greenspan’s “briefcase indicator” (for you kids out there - it was as dumb as it sounds)

If your strategy is based on what the Fed is or isn’t going to do, then you have already lost.

Play your own game
Read 9 tweets
Mar 10, 2021
As the kids say these days, “it’s been a minute” since we’ve done a mezz thread.

Today: my first mezz deal, and the answer to the question “How do you know if mezz is right for your business?”
When I went out on my own I started from scratch - no deal flow, etc.

So, I hit the lunch circuit - take people to lunch, ask a lot of questions, ask for referrals, ask for other contacts, etc.

It started slowly, but it started
I looked at a number of potential deals (different sizes, different industries), and found a consumer deal that I liked. They were growing quickly and needed additional capital.

We worked together to come up with a structure that worked for me and the company.
Read 11 tweets
Feb 22, 2021
Last week @girdley made a comment about amateurish SMB financials ...

Thought I’d pile on here with a thread on evaluating different parts of those amateurish financials.

(Reminder, often there is opportunity, but it requires some work)
First, a quick story ... my favorite moment at @uclaanderson was accounting class.

Professor: “What account did you use for your plug to make things balance?”

Classmate: “Well, I used two”

Professor:
Ok, 5 areas to probe on amateurish financials:

1) Timing - accounting cadence in most SMB is nonexistent. You’ll often see quarterly or even annual financials. That’s fine. Be sure to ask about seasonality, and make sure financials are current

A 6 month old Balance Sheet is:
Read 10 tweets
Feb 2, 2021
Today in mezz threads:

Finding collateral where there isn’t any ... aka, my most innovative idea (and I’m giving it to you for free)!
Let’s revisit this thread from my early (active) Twitter days. A few questions you might ask:

1) What was my collateral (why did I make this loan)?
2) Why did I have any leverage with the company at all (short of a foreclosure)?
3) Why did the “deep pockets” buy me out?
Let me pick up the story with two assumptions I had going in:

1) I didn’t trust the owner/operator (at all)

2) I knew the PE group (that had offered $200 M) well, and I knew who they were proposing to bring in to run the company had they bought it

#2 (plan B) made sense to me
Read 13 tweets
Jan 21, 2021
Last week I promised a few thoughts on cultivating deal flow.

I’m back after some time helping my wife with her art businesses, so the time is now!

How to make deal flow like:
1. Deal flow is a balance between active selling and sitting on your hands.

Who do you “sell” too? Everyone, but especially the “professional set” who are touching a lot of potential targets. For me: bankers, lawyers, accountants, etc
2. Take them to lunch (I know...) - pay for the lunch. Build a relationship. This isn’t a “one and done” thing. Go regularly.

Every city has a handful of people that “control” the deal flow in your industry/target market in that city. You have to find a way in...
Read 14 tweets

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